Evolving Gleeson bringing new spark to 36ers

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Trevor Gleeson is back in the NBL, but for those expecting the same leader who helped the Perth Wildcats to five championships, don't.

After venturing off to bigger and better things following his eight years with the Wildcats, firstly in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks before several seasons in the Japanese B.League with the Chiba Jets, Gleeson says he's learned there's more ways to get the job done as he looks to take the Adelaide 36ers to a championship.

In that, he may be referencing his famous flex offence that he's famous for in the NBL.

"Well, hopefully we put on a good standard," Gleeson told Jon Guarna during the NBL1 National Finals championship games in Adelaide on Sunday.

"Our DNA is going to be tough and get after it a little bit, so hopefully I'm a little bit more mature and learn a little bit from the NBA.

"There's a lot of different ways to skin a cat, so we'll see how we go."

Gleeson's system proved to be one of the hardest to stop in the NBL during his Wildcats days, especially given the talent he was dealing with.

There was several iterations of the flex offence in Perth, from James Ennis and Jermaine Beal, to Bryce Cotton and any number of playmaking bigs he was working with, including Jesse Wagstaff, Nick Kay, John Mooney and more.

This upcoming season in Adelaide he has just as much talent, if not more, to deal with. He has reunited with Cotton, the six-time MVP, and has a Draymond Green-type in Zylan Cheatham as well as Isaac Humphries, Nick Rakocevic and then a sharpshooter in John Jenkins and last season's NBL Most Improved Player in Flynn Cameron.

It's a team that went within seconds of a drought-breaking title last season but the Adelaide fans and hierarchy hope Gleeson can carry them one step further.

The two-time NBL Coach of the Year said he was loving being back in Australia and starting his new tenure in Adelaide.

"I love it back home in Australia, it's been a long time since I've been here, so I'm really enjoying my time in Adelaide so far," he said.

"I don't think it's any surprise that having Bryce on the team (made the 36ers an exciting opportunity), having a great history with coaching him for five years and just being a fan last year and seeing how they played.

"Things worked out that I'm here this year, so I'm looking forward to the challenge ahead."

Having been overseas both in the NBA and in Japan for the past five years, Gleeson said he noticed a growing knowledge of the NBL from players, coaches and officials in the international game.

"I've been in America for three years and everyone asks you (about the NBL) and before they didn't ask, but now they actually know the players," he said.

"They know the rosters, they know the imports, they know all the teams. So just the depth of knowledge in the international world, international basketball, is a lot more solid than it was before."

While the NBL1 National Finals had been a hot topic in recent weeks, given the absence of many national league stars, Gleeson said he enjoyed the tournament and watching some other players earning more of an opportunity.

"I like the young kids. It's missing a lot of the guys for the NBL training and playing, but there's some young kids coming up," Gleeson said.

"For me, especially being away from basketball in Australia for five years, it gives me a little bit of depth, and we have a couple of guys here playing that's in our training squad."

Fans will have the chance to see Gleeson's 36ers in action for the first time at the NBL Blitz in Bendigo from September 2-6.